Today is the 8th International Day of Charity: the world needs help

On the 8th anniversary of International Charity Day, the global pledge to eradicate poverty calls for solidarity from all strata of society. The devasting effects of the pandemic had made us aware of the need for collective social responsibility to each other. Charity Day seeks to provide platforms to humanitarian organizations across the world. It further raises awareness about Social Bonding and enhances the Culture of Giving in the not so small pluralistic world. 

Today is the 8th International Day of Charity: the world needs help [Photo- Pixabay] 

Our little help can alleviate the most affected lives in a crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic. And the much-needed support in public systems like health care, education, housing and child protection shows the urgency for urgent solutions. It also advocates for the rights of the marginalized and deprived sections of society. Charity Day is incomplete until we act together as a human family to reshape our future sustainably. 

Why do we celebrate International Day of Charity? 

International Day of Charity originated in Hungary as a way for the Hungarian Civil Society to improve public participation in charitable work. 

The day 5th September was chosen to honour the passing of Mother Teresa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress. She was known for her devotion to charitable work and gave over 45 years of her life to helping others. 

Mother Teresa, the famous nun, was known for her heroic deeds. She was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910. An editor of the Norwegian paper (Aftenposten) asserted in December 1979, "A star without false eyelashes and makeup, without jewels and fur coats, without theatrical gestures." 

In 1928 she moved to India, where she dedicated herself to helping the poor. In 1948 she adopted Indian citizenship and founded the order of Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1950. Some political and civic leaders also showed strong interest in Mother Teresa's work from the beginning of her religious congregation in 1950. The partition of India and the civil war that led to the birth of Bangladesh had proved to be an opportunity for Indian politicians to build a secular country. India portrayed Mother Teresa as an image of secularism at highlighting the 'New India' and promoting the Indians as secular and a generous nation. 

The International Charity Day had declared by the United Nations in 2012 and is part of their 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, which deals with the difficulties that poverty places on poorer countries. 

Why should we help? 

All around, everywhere, people are dying, not of disease but out of poverty. We have the right to spent money on ourselves. But, having the freedom of what to do doesn't settle the fundamental question of what we should do as human beings. We spend money on things we don't need, or they are part of our modern lifestyle like vacations, drinks, movies, video games etc. Or we could whether spend money on our lifestyle or on a charity. It's up to us, are we leaving a child to die or a child we could have saved. 

Nobel Prize-winning economist and social scientist Herbert Simon said that social capital is responsible for at least 90% of the wealth in prosperous societies. The rich have harmed the poor, and it does not seem to stop. According to Jan Narveson, just 1% of the world’s people own 45% of the world’s wealth, and less than 10% own 84% of the wealth. At the other end of the spectrum, 64% of the world’s people own only 2% of the world’s wealth. But the unequal distribution of the wealth is not sufficient to show that the growth of immense wealth by a few billionaires has harmed the poor. 

Our long endeavour to address poverty on a war footing has been fruitful—the number of people living in extreme poverty waned from 36 per cent in 1990 to 10 per cent in 2015. But the Covid-19 has come with new challenges. India seems to be good at tackling the pandemic despite the government's denial. The reason is long ancient India's Culture of Giving. India stands at 14th position in CAF World Giving Index among 114 nations. The prominent causes for donation are: helping the poor (54%), supporting religious communities (51%) and supporting children (49%). 

Poverty is estimated to rise further during the COVID-19 pandemic after the economy has shrunk. In these turbulent times, the question we should ask ourselves—are we helping or not. If we aren't, then we are no less of a tyrant 

Author: 

Abhishek Bhattacharyya